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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26496346">Spot the Difference</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlwriting/pseuds/Fangirlwriting'>Fangirlwriting</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My Collection of Fluffy One-Shots [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dating, First Dates, Fluff, Multi, cheek kiss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:14:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26496346</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlwriting/pseuds/Fangirlwriting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremy is going on his first date with his crush after just confessing to them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Christine Canigula/Jeremy Heere, Jake Dillinger/Jeremy Heere, Jeremy Heere/Brooke Lohst, Jeremy Heere/Michael Mell, Rich Goranski/Jeremy Heere</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My Collection of Fluffy One-Shots [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903834</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Michael</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is literally just the same date five times with all the people I ship Jeremy with.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeremy was nervous.  Not an unusual state of mind for him, but this time he was pretty sure he had an actual reason to be.  It wasn’t that he regretted confessing to Michael.  Far from it, Jeremy could easily say it was the best decision he’d ever made, especially when he found out that Michael liked him back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the problem was, when two people liked each other, they usually decided to go on a date.  You know, to see if things would work out.  And while one could question about whether or not that was necessary for Jeremy and Michael specifically, given the fact that the two of them had known each other for so long, it was the principle of the thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had both already decided that a movie didn’t warrant dressing up super fancy, so Jeremy had only agonized over his clothes for half an hour instead of a full hour.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wow, he was a mess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy ran his hands through his hair, finally picked a slightly nicer t-shirt and jeans, ran a brush through his hair, and picked up his phone as he headed downstairs to wait on the couch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Paul was sitting in the dining room to do his work that night, which he never did, so anyone could guess what he was really doing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doorbell rang about five minutes after Jeremy sat down, and Jeremy could see his dad was about to stand up and go get it himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got it okay I love you dad I’ll be back later bye!” Jeremy got out in one breath, before all but sprinting over to the door and opening it, nearly missing his dad’s chuckle and “Have fun!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy slammed the door shut quickly behind him, which had the unfortunate result of him turning and finding himself about six inches from Michael’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He yelped and scooted backwards into the door.  “Uh, hey Michael.  Lovely weather, huh?  I mean I guess that doesn’t really matter ‘cause we’re gonna be inside the whole time, but uh… yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nope.  Nevermind.  Jeremy was going to die sad and alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael chuckled.  “Hey, you never know,” he said.  “Maybe there’ll be a hurricane and the roof of the theatre will get torn off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy tried really hard not to blush.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael laughed again and gently took Jeremy’s arm, walking them both down to the car.  Jeremy knew, logically, that he shouldn’t be nervous, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least riding in Michael’s car was a usual enough experience at this point, so climbing into the passenger’s side while Michael started the car felt very normal.  It didn’t stop him from being nervous, naturally, but Michael starting to talk about the movie he had picked helped a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy had insisted since he was the one who had confessed first and therefore it was him taking Michael on this date, Michael got to pick the movie.  Michael had eventually agreed to do so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m pretty sure that she might actually create a literal ocean out of her tears, so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Michael,” Jeremy asked in bafflement.  “Are you saying we’re going to watch a teen drama?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael grinned over at him as they pulled up to a stoplight.  “Yeah.  I figured it would be an easy movie for both of us to laugh at.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy gave it a second’s thought before chuckling a little, because Michael was probably right.  “And you figured that would make me less terrified, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something like that,” Michael said with a knowing smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They got to the movie theatre a good half hour before the movie was supposed to start, and once they bought the tickets and went inside Jeremy pulled out the extra twenty dollars he’d brought with him in order to buy Michael a bunch of sour candy (since he didn’t like popcorn).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jeremy, what’s that for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on,” Jeremy said, pulling Michael with him up towards the line.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know we could have just stopped at the 7/11 on the way here.  Everyone knows the candy is overpriced.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we didn’t leave with enough time, and apparently I have a lousy date who doesn’t like popcorn, so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael gave Jeremy a not-at-all-serious glare as Jeremy bought three different boxes of sour candy.  One to eat before the previews, one to dish out during the first ten minutes of the movie, and one to eat once the second act started and they realized they’d eaten most of the candy too fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael opened the first box as they walked into the theatre, and they both picked seats up near the back rows, since they were planning to be laughing at the movie and didn’t want to disturb anyone else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael filled most of the space by talking, which Jeremy was grateful for, as he wasn’t really sure what he would say.  It still hadn’t quite sunk in that he was actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>, on a date with his best friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The previews started much sooner than either of them expected, and cut Michael off in the middle of a sentence.  He finished the sentence a second later, because neither of them really cared much about what previews they would get during a teen drama movie, but that did put a limit on the time they had to talk before the actual film started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it did so, Jeremy turned away from looking at Michael for the first time in a while and instead looked at what was happening on the screen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or well, he almost did.  But Michael was right there, and he was nice to look at.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was also far from unobservant though, and about ten minutes into the movie he looked over to see Jeremy staring.  Jeremy’s face went bright red and he turned quickly to the actual movie, not that he had much of an idea what was happening except for the fact that someone was crying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Jer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy turned.  “Yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael leaned forward, close enough to kissing his cheek that Jeremy tensed up, but he just moved straight past that so he could whisper in his ear.  Fucking tease.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you see the puddle of tears starting to form on the floor?  This is when the movie switches genres to natural disaster.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy burst out laughing, doing his best to try and keep it down, as the people a couple rows down gave them irritated looks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so it’s a flood story,” he whispered back when he got a hold of his laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Complete with an ark.  They start building it during the next scene.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy snickered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That lightened the mood immensely, and they both laughed through the rest of the movie, likely annoying quite a few people, but Jeremy couldn’t really find it in himself to care for once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The movie was much too long, as expected, so when they got out of the theatre it was already far past dark outside.  But Michael took them a different direction out of the theatre than back towards Jeremy’s house, and Jeremy gave him a curious look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael stopped about two minutes later.  “And, voila.  A 7/11 less than five minutes from the theatre that we totally would have had time to go to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy groaned.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Michael.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here, I’ll pay you back for all that money you wasted by buying us both slushies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy still laughed as he climbed out of the car, and they both headed inside.  Michael waved to the girl at the counter as they approached, and bought a cherry one for himself and blue raspberry for Jeremy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And here you are, my good sir,” Michael said, passing it over the counter when the girl handed it to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both headed back outside in order to eat sitting in Michael’s car, which Michaell pulled out from under the roof of the gas station so they could open the windows and crane their head out to look at the stars if they so desired.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They went home pretty much right after they finished their slushies, since it was getting late anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Michael parked the car outside the house and turned to Jeremy with a genuine smile.  “This was fun,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was,” Jeremy said with a much smaller smile.  He bit his lip as he tried to steel his nerves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jeremy?”  Michael’s gaze turned slightly concerned.  “Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy leaned quickly across the car and kissed Michael on the cheek, for real this time.  “I would love to do this again,” he whispered, before leaning quickly back over to the other door and sprinting from the car up to the house, not managing to get enough confidence to look back at Michael’s reaction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shut the door and proceeded to scream his nerves out, doing his best not to wake up his dad.  He was about to run out to the backyard so he could jump up and down in peace, when his phone buzzed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Micah &lt;3: I would love to do this again.  I had a lot of fun.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy immediately melted, walking a couple steps before collapsing onto the couch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah.  On Jeremy’s long, long list of regrets, confessing to Michael didn’t even come close to being on it.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Christine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeremy was nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, maybe that was an oversimplification.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy was about to do the one thing that decided whether or not everything with the Squip had been even a little bit worth it.  If tonight went badly, then everything he’d gone through, everything he’d put Michael through, everything he’d done to his new group of friends, would have been for nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In other words, this was going to be his first date with Christine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bowling alley performance art that they had planned had fallen through.  They still very much planned to do it, but this was the only time the two of them had free this week, and it was too late for the bowling alley to be open, so Jeremy had suggested a movie instead, and Christine had agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy pulled a brush through his hair one more time before trying to stop himself from touching it, as that would only mess it up yet again.  He didn’t want to look overdressed for a movie, but he also didn’t want to look underdressed for Christine, so he ended up going with a nicer pair of jeans and a t-shirt, just barely remembering to stick money in his pocket for popcorn before heading down to the garage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were riding bikes, since neither of them had their license.  Jeremy pulled his out of the garage and onto the driveway, pointedly ignoring his dad who was appearing in the doorway.  He shut the garage door after he left with a hurried “Bye Dad love you!” and headed down past the car to wait closer to the street.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine pulled up about five minutes after that, riding her own bike and waving at him.  “Hey, Jeremy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy smiled.  Christine was wearing a jean skirt and jacket over a bright yellow t-shirt, and she looked absolutely radiant, not like anyone could realistically be surprised.  “Hi, Christine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He climbed onto his bike and they both started towards the theatre with little fanfare.  “Sorry we have to ride bikes, I just—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no worries!  I like bike riding anyway!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine chattered most of the way to the theatre, which Jeremy was grateful for, because he was still more than a little nervous that he’d say the exact wrong thing and screw this whole thing up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got to the theatre a little later than he would have liked, probably due to having to ride bikes.  Jeremy apologized again, which Christine waved off again, saying she wasn’t super picky about where she sat anyway.  Jeremy bought the tickets for the movie Christine had picked, which was a movie adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays (Jeremy was not surprised or disappointed).  He bought two large tubs of popcorn, and by that point the previews were starting in ten minutes, so they headed in and found a seat, closer to the back, but not horrible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Jeremy did like Shakespeare.  Honestly, he did.  He wasn’t at all pretending to like it for Christine’s sake.  But it was really hard to pay attention to the movie when Christine was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right there,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and smiling at the movie like it was the greatest thing in the world.  Jeremy wondered if she’d ever smile at him like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He apparently got his answer two seconds later, when Christine turned and beamed at him, grabbed his hand and pointed back to the movie with a happy exclamation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well.  Jeremy’s heart had exploded, and his face was probably the color of a watermelon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine didn’t let go of his hand for long enough that he eventually got used to it.  He wasn’t quite sure how she didn’t mind how sweaty it was, but she didn’t even seem to notice, continuing to whisper about what was happening in the movie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy barely noticed when the movie ended until Christine turned to him with another smile.  “That was so good!” she cried.  “Oh Jeremy, I loved it!  Thanks so much for taking me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy smiled much too wide back at her, sure he looked absolutely ridiculous but finding it hard to care when Christine was so happy.  “It was my pleasure,” he said sincerely, and they both headed out of the theatre, Christine still smiling and Jeremy therefore doing the same.  Jeremy was content to let her ramble on about the movie, especially because he had missed enough of it that he wasn’t sure he could add much to the conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine lived further away from the theatre than Jeremy’s house, so she said it simply made sense that they both bike back there first.  Jeremy tried to protest, but Christine said she didn’t care whether or not he escorted her home, so they finally stopped in his driveway, and Jeremy climbed off his bike.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Before I go,” Christine said, turning back around on her own bike.  “This is for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Christine reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small wrapped box.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Christine, you shouldn’t have,” Jeremy said as he accepted it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t even opened it yet, silly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I mean, this was supposed to be a date for you, you didn’t need to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to,” Christine said happily.  “Go on, open it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy opened the box to find a small bowling ball pin, one he could put on his backpack or his cardigan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, this way we can still say bowling was part of our first date,” Christine said with a smile.  “So you can stop thinking I’m so disappointed about it, and stop apologizing for everything that might have gone wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy laughed a little, smiling back at Christine.  “Thank you,” he said, feeling his face heat up a little in embarrassment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeremy.”  Christine leaned her bike against the car to her side and walked up to stand in front him.  Before Jeremy could say anything in reply, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.  “I had a lot of fun.  I would absolutely love to do this again sometime.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy couldn’t respond due to having clearly died and gone to heaven.  He nodded mutely, and Christine beamed at him again before hopping back on her bike and waving as she rode off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy stood in the driveway for another ten minutes, smiling at the empty space in front of him and trying to figure out when in his life he had done something worthy of getting this lucky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, he took his bike back into the garage and headed back into his house, still grinning like an idiot.  His dad</span>
  <span> was thankfully already asleep as he walked upstairs and into his room.  He changed into some pajamas and collapsed on his bed, still managing to keep grinning up at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So obviously the Squip would never be worth it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Christine Canigula was a different story entirely.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Rich</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>If you had told Jeremy a couple months ago that he would be going on a date with Richard Goranski, he would have laughed in his face.  And then frozen and asked if Rich had said that to try and blackmail or bully him in some way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Squip had changed a lot of things, though.  One of them being the way that he looked at his former bully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy had been shocked to learn that Rich felt the same way about him.  Partially because his interactions with Rich still felt incredibly awkward most of the time.  Rich had apologized multiple times for the things that he had done to Jeremy over the course of having a Squip.  Jeremy had forgiven him, but he could tell Rich still felt guilty.  Which was probably the reason Rich looked so shocked when Jeremy confessed to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t regret it, though.  Especially when he learned that Rich felt the same way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy took much too long to pick what clothes he was going to wear, the result being that by the time he was ready to go, he was risking being late for the bus they were catching.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy raced down the stairs, stopping to quickly say goodbye to his father in the kitchen before running out the front door and towards the bus stop a street over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rich was already waiting when he got there.  “Hey,” Jeremy said, gasping a little as he caught his breath.  “Sorry I’m late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” Rich said, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.  “I’m sorry we have to take the bus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, that’s more my fault than anything,” Jeremy pointed out as he sat down.  “I’m the one who doesn’t know how to drive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m the one who doesn’t have a bike,” Rich said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I guess that makes us even then, huh?” Jeremy asked with a little smile, finding it surprisingly easy to relax when Rich seemed just as nervous as he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both talked until while they waited, not about anything in particular.  The bus arrived pretty much exactly on time, and they both stepped on and picked a seat close to the front.  They were the only people waiting at the stop, so the bus pulled away once they got on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took them a little less than twenty minutes to get to the bus stop closest to the movie theatre which was still a couple minutes walk away from it, so they talked about the movie they were planning to see on the way there.  Jeremy had insisted on Rich picking the movie, and he had decided on a movie adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays, which surprised Jeremy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would have thought that would be more of Christine’s kind of thing,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Rich mumbled, the tips of his ears turning red.  “It was kinda my kind of thing too, before, well, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy nodded a little in understanding, but for once, the reference to the Squips didn’t seem to make things awkward.  That might have been helped a little by the fact that they were approaching the theatre as Rich finished his sentence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy got the tickets, as well as buying a couple large tubs of popcorn, and they made it inside close to the time the previews would be starting.  They got a seat closer to the back of the theatre, which didn’t seem to bother Rich.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I kinda like being in the background,” he said, which was not a sentence Jeremy had ever expected to hear from Rich Goranski, but it did make much more sense now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now here’s the thing.  Jeremy did like Shakespeare.  He hadn’t needed to pretend to like it when he joined the drama club to impress Christine, or anything like that.  And he wouldn’t pretend to something to impress Rich, either, he had learned his lesson in that department (well, more or less anyway).  But Rich was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right there,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he was making it kind of hard to focus on the movie when he was such a better view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rich wasn’t oblivious, however.  After the first couple scenes, he glanced over at Jeremy, who felt his face heating up at the sudden attention.  But Rich didn’t look away either, and before he knew it, they were both just looking at each other.  They were pulled away from doing this a couple scenes after it started when someone on the screen exclaimed something very loudly, and both of them jumped and looked away.  Jeremy didn’t look directly back at Rich during the rest of the movie, and Rich didn’t either, but they both snuck glances every couple minutes.  Jeremy was pretty sure they were both aware of that fact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both exited quietly when the movie ended, and oh boy, the awkward silence was back.  Jeremy wasn’t really sure how to break it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were waiting at the bus stop again when Rich spoke up.  “I… I really like you, Jeremy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy looked away so Rich couldn’t see the new blush that was definitely there right now.  “I kind of figured,” he said.  “Or I mean, uh— I would hope so.  Why else would you be here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean… I didn’t think I’d ever get to do something like this.  I just…”  Rich seemed to pause and think over what he wanted to say.  “I first noticed you during the Squipcident,” he said quietly.  “When our Squips made us hang out.  That was when I kinda realized that holy fuck, I was such an idiot for ever treating you badly.  Because you’re just… you’re amazing.  You’re kind, and you’re thoughtful, and I mean, just look at you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy looked down and really hoped it wasn’t obvious how on fire his face was.  “Rich,” he mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I can’t imagine what you see in the guy who bullied you for two years straight, but…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy risked a glance over to see Rich’s face was bright red too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m really glad I get to be here,” Rich whispered.  “With you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy reached over slowly and took Rich’s hand.  “I’m really glad for that too, Rich,” he said.  “I’m really happy I get to have you in my life now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rich smiled, a big goofy grin that Jeremy was pretty sure he was mirroring.  They both sat there in silence again, but unlike the last one, this one wasn’t a bit awkward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bus pulled forward in front of them, and they both climbed on.  They sat in the same seats they had before the movie, since they had ended up empty again.  They didn’t talk much on the way home, but this time Jeremy got the sense that it was more because neither of them really felt the need to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rich’s stop came up before his, and Jeremy glanced over at him just before he got off to find Rich blushing quite a bit again.  Jeremy was about to ask if something was wrong when Rich leaned forward quickly, kissed him on the cheek, and sprinted off the bus all in the same half second.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took Jeremy long enough to process what had just happened that he didn’t come up with anything to say before Rich was long gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, another grin spread over his face.  He was sure he looked like an absolute idiot right now, but for once, he couldn’t bring himself to care.  Instead, he just kept smiling the whole way home.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Brooke</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeremy was pretty sure this was the kind of situation people made rom-coms about.  Well, okay, maybe not the supercomputer that controlled people and almost took over the world, but falling in love with your ex?  Absolutely rom-com material.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy could safely say he had never been more nervous than when he’d confessed to Brooke.  At first she’d thought he was joking.  She got really angry, really fast, and Jeremy had to do some instant damage control.  But it eventually led to a conversation of what had exactly happened with the Squip forcing him to date her.  Brooke had given him a pass for being abused and mind controlled, and hesitantly admitted that she maybe kinda sorta still liked him too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which led to a date.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy was still nervous, and pacing back and forth in his living room.  His father was giving him an amused look from the table, and Jeremy was honestly just really wishing he would go away.  When Brooke texted him that she was a couple minutes away, Jeremy said a rushed goodbye to his dad and headed out the front door faster than he’d previously thought he could manage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke pulled up about a minute later in her mother’s car, rolled down her window and waved to him from the driver’s seat.  Jeremy waved hesitantly back and walked down the driveway, heading around to the other side of the car and climbing in the passenger seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry you have to drive us both,” Jeremy said.  “I wish I had my license already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s okay.  One of my least favorite societal standards is that the man always has to drive the car,” Brooke said, smiling in the way that made it clear she was joking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy laughed a little, and Brooke pulled away towards the movie theatre.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy had insisted Brooke pick the film, and she eventually ended up going with what was sure to be an overly-sappy rom-com romance.  Jeremy didn’t usually love those kinds of movies, but he was sure he’d have no problem considering the current company, and the fact that his life was becoming a rom-com, as previously stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy bought the tickets, then two tubs of large popcorn, and then they headed into the theatre, making a little bit of small talk before the movie started.  It was a little surprising how much Brooke could talk when given permission to do so, and since Jeremy was more than willing to listen, Brooke went on about why she liked this type of movie as well as how much she loved happily ever afters, two things that Jeremy was pretty sure were related, but Brooke didn’t talk about them that way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the movie started, Brooke turned to face the movie, but again, Jeremy wasn’t honestly the hugest fan of this kind of movie, and Brooke was… really nice to look at.  But though Jeremy was many things, subtle was not one of them, and Brooke was far from oblivious.  About ten minutes into the movie, she glanced over and saw him staring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy was about to stammer some kind of excuse when Brooke looked away from him, seeming more than a little uncomfortable.  “Why are you looking at me?” she asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh… you’re just… really beautiful,” Jeremy stammered, before promptly looking away and dying of shame.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke didn’t reply, however, and when Jeremy looked back over he saw her staring down at her hands, which were clenched in her lap.  He opened his mouth to try to say something to cheer her up, because she looked upset, but eventually he looked away, because he seemed to have done enough damage already, hadn’t he?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke didn’t really look back up for the rest of the movie, and Jeremy spent the time trying to come up with anything to say.  He didn’t want to leave her like this, this night was supposed to be fun for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, as they were walking out of the movie theatre, he had an idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, so, do you maybe want to go get some Pinkberry?” Jeremy asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke finally smiled up at him a little bit again.  “Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke grinned.  </span>
  <span>“Absolutely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a Pinkberry about halfway between the theatre and Jeremy’s house, which was the one Brooke took them to.  She parked the car and looked over at Jeremy.  “Could you grab the bottle of pills in the glove compartment?  They’re for my dairy allergy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Jeremy said, reaching inside and pulling out the bottle he found there.  Brooke took one, and they both headed inside.  Jeremy had simple tastes, and got vanilla with sprinkles and chocolate sauce, while Brooke got strawberry with about every topping you could think of.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both sat at a two person table by the window, and had eaten a couple bites when Jeremy looked hesitantly up at Brooke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, are you okay?  You seemed really upset at the movie theatre.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke looked surprised that he brought it up.  “Oh, I’m fine.  I just…” she sighed.  “It’s hard for me.  You know, to see myself that way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beautiful?” Jeremy asked hesitantly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything other than second to Chloe,” Brooke admitted, poking at the frozen yogurt in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy was quiet for a minute, trying to come up with something to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, everyone who’s ever dated me really just wanted to get to her.  And I mean you…” Brooke sighed.  “We already had that talk though.  I know what actually happened—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry anyway,” Jeremy said immediately.  “I hated that.  It really hurt you, and I just… I’m really sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke smiled a little.  “It’s okay.  I’m working on moving past that.  I might just… need a little more time than one date.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy hesitated for another second, then leaned forward and kissed Brooke on the cheek.  He pulled back to see her staring at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have never thought of you as second to Chloe,” he said.  “I promise.  Even when I had the Squip.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, Brooke started to smile.  It took about five seconds for it to get really big, and then she took a bite of frozen yogurt, probably to hide it.  It didn’t work very well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They went back to small talk after that, although Jeremy could tell that Brooke was fighting a giant grin the whole time, as well as the whole way she drove him home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy unbuckled his seat belt and turned back to face Brooke before he opened the door.  “So, um, bit of a rough start, but I had fun?” he said softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brooke stopped trying to fight her smile and beamed at him, causing Jeremy to grin right back.  “Yeah,” she said.  “I think next time we start the date at Pinkberry.  Deal?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy just about melted on the spot, but managed to keep it together long enough to reply, “Deal,” and watch Brooke drive away.  Then he walked into the house and collapsed on the couch next to the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe rom-coms weren’t that bad after all.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Jake</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeremy was finding it hard to think of times that he had been more nervous than this, but to be fair to himself, he wasn’t sure who wouldn’t be nervous going on a date with Jake Dillinger.  Jeremy still wasn’t sure how the heck he’d managed to actually get up enough confidence to actually ask him on a date, but he’d done it.  And here they were.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy was currently agonizing over what to wear, because while Jake could pull off anything, he wasn’t nearly as lucky.  Eventually, he finally decided on a nicer t shirt and jeans, and not a moment too soon, because his phone buzzed with a text from Jake, saying he was a couple minutes away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy sprinted down the stairs and past his father in the entryway.  “Bye Dad love you!” he called, and almost missed his father’s “Have fun!” in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake pulled up in what looked like a very nice new car a couple minutes later.  Whatever insurance money he’d gotten from the fire must have been a lot more than Jeremy thought it had been.  He tried to keep his legs from shaking as he walked around the car and climbed in the passenger door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Jake said with a grin at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Jeremy said with a wobbly smile.  “Sorry, you have to drive, I just—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s all good,” Jake said, in a way that made it clear it was, in fact, all good.  “I just cleared to drive again as long as I take it easy.  So I mean, I can’t promise we’ll be going 20 over the speed limit on the highway, but I can drive us to the movies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy laughed a little.  Jake pulled away and towards the movie theatre, and did most of the talking, which Jeremy was grateful for, because he wasn’t sure he could even get a sentence out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy had insisted Jake pick the movie, and despite his attempted protests, Jake eventually picked an action movie.  They weren’t usually Jeremy’s kind of movie, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t mind, given the company he was with.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy also insisted on buying the tickets, as well as the popcorn, since he was the one who had asked Jake out on this date in the first place.  Jake almost looked like he wanted to protest, but eventually seemed to give in and humor Jeremy.  Jeremy wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They got better seats than Jeremy was used to, and he wasn’t sure if that was Jake’s awesomeness personification rubbing off on the world around him, but it’s not like he was complaining.  Jake talked quite a bit more before the previews started, which Jeremy was still grateful for, though he did actually stop talking once the movie started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy was trying really hard to pay attention.  Honestly.  But Jake was making it really hard by being much more interesting to look at than the action movie.  At one point he said, “Hey, Jeremy, check this out,” tossed a popcorn kernel in the air and caught it in his mouth, which was about the opposite of helpful.  At least he didn’t notice Jeremy’s staring.  Sometimes obliviousness had an upside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the movie ended, Jake seemed to be a little quieter than before it had, which naturally immediately sent Jeremy’s anxiety through the roof.  Jake wasn’t normally quiet.  Had he done something wrong?  Should he have talked more, or less, or—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So hey,” Jake said, snapping Jeremy out of his thoughts.  “I get the sense that action movies aren’t really your thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?  I mean, not really, I’m more into like, stargazing maybe, or no, that’s dumb, I just thought since I was the one who asked you out that maybe you should get to pick what we did and also a movie seemed like something safe with not a ton of chances for me to screw it up and wow I really need to stop talking I just—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Jake said casually, giving Jeremy an amused smile.  “Let’s go stargazing then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy stared at him for a second, mouth hung open with the other end of his panicked rant still wanting to come out.  “What?  But, this was supposed to be your date—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, actually, I think relationships are supposed to be about both of the people involved.  So we did my thing.  Now it’s your turn.  I know a park fairly close to here with not a ton of streetlights around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy almost protested, but Jake was already heading towards the car with a purpose, so he supposed that decided that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake was right about the park being in the dark, Jeremy hadn’t seen a streetlight for at least a couple streets by the time they pulled to a stop in front of the park.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Jake said.  “So we’re technically not supposed to be here after sunset, but as long as we stay in the parking lot I don’t think they can yell at us, so here’s my plan.”  He opened the sunroof above them, and before Jeremy could say anything, stuck his arms out and pulled himself up onto the roof of the car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jake!” Jeremy called in shock.  “What about your legs?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake smirked down at him.  “That was arm work, my dude.  Come on.”  He reached his hands down, which Jeremy took hesitantly before getting yanked up to the roof by Jake and his… incredibly strong arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky, and Jeremy hesitantly did the same a second later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stars were nice.  And there were a lot of them here.  Jeremy had always had an interest in space, and he used to do this all the time with his parents as a kid, back before his mom left and his dad stopped caring about the things Jeremy was interested in.  Maybe he should ask his dad if he wanted to go stargazing sometime soon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Jake said, and Jeremy glanced nervously over at him.  “I totally get it if you’re nervous, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, wow.  Jeremy should go home and immediately slam his head into a wall.  “I’m not—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, you are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kill him now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, honestly, I get it, okay?  I know people are intimidated by me.  Because I’m the popular jock who’s super attractive, or whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake had an interesting talent to be able to compliment himself in a way that sounded like he believed it while also managing to not sound egotistical.  Jeremy was a little baffled by it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Jeremy,” Jake turned to face him.  “I agreed to go on a date with you because I like you.  You don’t need to do everything perfectly.  I’m still going to want to go on another one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy stared at Jake for a second, his mouth hanging open.  “I— really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake smiled and nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“…Okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then Jake’s smile turned into a smirk, and suddenly Jeremy was nervous again.  “Oh, but please,” he said, and before Jeremy could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.  “Continue to be a blushing mess all the time.  It’s one of the things that makes you incredibly adorable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Three guesses what happened next.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ended up staying for another ten minutes or so after Jeremy calmed down, and then getting back into the car and driving back to Jeremy’s house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So next time, I get to pick the date, yeah?” Jake said, pulling into the driveway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What— didn’t you just do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but next time I get to do that from the start and freak your tiny little anxious mind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy sighed and pulled the car door open.  “Awesome.  I can’t wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I had fun,” Jake said, and the tone in his voice had shifted to sound sincere.  Jeremy glanced back over at him to find him smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled back.  “I did too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake’s smile turned into a grin, and he waved as Jeremy started up towards the house and he backed out of the driveway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeremy shut the door behind him and immediately collapsed against it.  Well, his nerves were shot.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading my self-indulgent fic that I made entirely because I am a multi-shipper.  If you want to, feel free to leave a comment for which chapter was your favorite.  And yes, I understand that will be heavily influenced by which ship you prefer.  I am okay with that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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